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Tuesday, 19 January 2010

We hope you survived the snow and ice, and had lots of fun building snow men and women. We hear there might be more on the way...

Although it was fun, we were sad to have to cancel the Bollywood night on 6 January. However, do not despair - we will shake our things to 'Dhansak Queen', 'Korma Chameleon' and 'Paperback Raita' later on in the year when we reschedule. Perhaps we'll have an Indian Summer after all.

Membership

The big 'M'. Membership for 2010 is open, and all interested parties should have received an application form by email. If you haven't, please email jointhewi@gmail.com to request your copy. Numbers are limited, and the deadline for application is 31 January. Priority will be given to 2009 members.

Please bring completed forms and cheques for £29.50 (made payable to 'Malago WI') to next Wednesday's meeting (27 January) - if you cannot make the meeting, again email jointhewi@gmail.com ASAP to let us know.

January meeting - Badge-making, new year and WI campaign resolutions

On 27 January, we will be starting our WI year with the opportunity to get crafty and make yourself a name badge. Of course, this will be done in traditional Malago style - we will eat (cake), drink (tea) and be creative with glue guns and finery. And come along prepared to add your new year resolution to our tree for others to be inspired by and, possibly, help you to achieve.

Which brings me onto a request for:

Materials - anything you can think of can be part of your fabulous name badge, so bring along paper, pens, tape, card, ribbons, buttons and fabric

OHP - we desperately need an overhead projector. It seems they are a dying breed, so if you can help, please drop us a line.

Campaign resolutions

It's that time of the year when the National Federation of Women's Institutes (NFWI) selects our national campaign resolutions for the year ahead. 2009 members will remember that the resolution passed at the NFWI's AGM in May was SOS for honeybees.

This round of votes determines which resolution will be shortlisted, usually between 1 and 3. Then in May we will have a further opportunity to cast our votes in selecting one resolution, which will be run by NFWI. This year we have been asked to vote as individual members, whereas previously we have voted as a WI. The shortlist of resolutions is as follows:

1. The mandatory clear labelling of food with true country of origin; 2. Save our pub; 3. Reduction in impact of flooding; 4. Provision of lifelong health and welfare support for armed forces personnel and families*; 5. Dignity and respect for women in accordance with their human rights; 6. Access to the disability living allowance mobility component for children under three years of age.

*Please note that because resolution 4 does not fall entirely within WI objects, it could only be passed for debate and not a campaign i.e. it would not be possible to use WI funds or press the government or any other decision maker on the issue.

The pros and cons of each resolution will be covered in next week's meeting, and paid-up 2010 members can vote using the forms we'll provide at the meeting. Don't worry if you can't attend or would like further time to consider the resolutions - you have until 5 February to complete the form from the November/December 2009 issue of WI Life and return it to NFWI, 104 New Kings Road, London SW6 4LY, to be received no later than 5 February.

Further details about other campaigns on a national and local level will be available on the website and at future meetings, and if you are aware of other campaigns which may be of interest to the membership, or if you would be interested in a greater role in our campaign activity (whether in relation to a specific campaign close to your heart or more generally), we'd love to hear from you. Email us or come and have a chat at the meeting.

2010 programme

Our programme is set for the first part of 2010 - have a look to see what we'll be getting up to in the months to come.

And don't forget our extra-curricular activities such as socials and workshops. If you've put your name down for the bread-making workshop, we'll need the cold, hard cash (or cheques) by the end of this month - £12 for members, £15 for non-members.

All members of the committee are involved in recruitment. They also share the hosting and other responsibilities for the monthly committee meetings. The Malago committee all takes part in setting up the hall before each meeting. Committee members deliver information to the institute and organise fund-raising activities. Other tasks include finding contacts for meetings, baking, and gathering materials for meetings.